Sound and Sense, 2-33

Time for more instances of the homophone: a word pronounced the same as another but differing in meaning, whether spelled the same way or not, as heir and air.

1. leach (verb): to dissolve out by the action of a percolating liquid (e.g., leach out alkali from ashes); to draw out or remove as if by percolation (all meaning has been leached from my life)

2. leech (noun): physician (archaic); a blood-sucking worm; a hanger-on who seeks advantage or gain; (verb): to bleed by the use of leeches; to drain a substance of

I found him awfully hard to reach—

That creepy guy, that dork, that leech.

I tried to tell him, “I won’t fund

Addictions!” So I shunned

The dude. But soon I was preached out—

And all my firmness had leached out

Of me. And so I funded him a bit—

He thanked me not, no, not one whit!*

And so I took a thirsty leech—

Oh, yes, I had a need to teach

That creepy, very druggy guy.

And when the leech had sucked him dry

I said, “You’ve nearly made me broke!”

He answered: “Got some bucks for coke!”

*whit = origin—Middle English, from wiht or wight = creature, thing